19 Mar 2013

Residents of Chanoga in the North West District have been informed that the upcoming poverty eradication Pitso will change the image of their village for the better.

Speaking during a kgotla meeting to greet residents and finalise preparations for the poverty eradication workshop, the Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi assured residents that the workshop would take their village to a higher level as their wishes and interests would be met.

The President, Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama is expected to officially open the workshop which will be held from March 25 to 27, while the Vice President Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe will perform the official closing.

The workshop will equip and empower the trainees with basic life skills in areas such as mindset change; business planning; costing and pricing; quality assurance; aesthetic product packaging and branding; effective marketing and sales strategies, and basic financial management.

Mr Masisi said the government was stepping up efforts to eradicate poverty country wide.

“We are determined to uproot poverty hence conducting workshops which offer beneficiaries life skills training to enable them to start living productively,” he explained.

He appreciated the fact that residents welcomed the workshop and assured them that at the end of the three-day workshop, they would reap its good results. The workshop will attract 1 000 beneficiaries from the North West District.

The minister urged residents to actively participate in the event to make it a success, adding that he had a strong team made of assistant ministers and some senior officials who were driving the programme to ensure it produces the expected results.

Kgosi Oateng Setlhodi of Chanoga welcomed the workshop and expressed hope that it would benefit the community.

He said that residents had been living in extreme poverty, which had been exacerbated by the recent floods which left many families homeless. He revealed that 50 homes were affected and some residents were provided with tents by the disaster committee while the Red Cross assisted with food and clothing.

Kgosi Setlhodi asked the minister and his team to consider assisting those without shelter to enhance their dignity. He noted that about six of them were in a bad situation and needed urgent attention.

He also expressed optimism that the poverty eradication initiative would bear positive fruits as some residents in the village had already ventured into projects such as sewing, bakery and leatherwork.

Kgosi Setlhodi said 16 people ventured into small stock while 71 had applied for the programme,  and 33 had already benefitted.

He also praised the government for playing a leading role by introducing various empowerment programmes geared towards bettering the lives of all Batswana.

He said the poverty eradication pitso also brought developments to their village as roads had been cleared.

Kgosi Setlhodi raised concern about backyard gardening noting that although some people had shown interest, the problem was shortage of water in the village. He thus requested that they be allowed to use water from the nearby river to water their gardens.  

“We can put a Jojo tank in one of our open spaces and utilize water from the river,” he said.

The Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Ms Botlogile Tshireletso encouraged residents to attend in large numbers to acquire knowledge, information and apply it to improve their lives.

She said even those who have not been identified as beneficiaries should attend to acquire knowledge, and encouraged small entrepreneurs to take advantage of the workshop to market their products.   ENDS